ADB Governors Endorse Collaboration with Civil Society

11 May 2002 - Several members of ADB's Board of Governors today

• commended ADB for its recent moves to strengthen ties to NGOs
• recognized the important role of civil society in development
• encouraged ADB to continue working closely with NGOs to fight poverty

Extracts follow:

"Australia supports the opening of ADB's NGO (Nongovernment Organization) Center and its valuable role in promoting greater interaction between ADB and civil society. As an expression of our commitment to the center's task, and our desire to see it succeed, Australia has provided assistance toward the development of a framework for ADB-NGO cooperation." - Daryl Williams, Head of Delegation, Australia

"¡­the parameters of pro-poor growth have to be carefully worked out and applied on an individual country basis in close cooperation with national authorities and other regional stakeholders, like civil society and nongovernment organizations." - Karl Heinz Grasser, Governor, Austria

"We would like to note our appreciation to President Chino for the role he has played in several achievements of ADB in recent years. Among those we would like to highlight are¡­establishing an NGO Center to strengthen ADB's cooperation with civil society¡­" - Hau Sing Tse, Head of Delegation, Canada

"Japan has contributed some $150 million so far to the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction established at ADB to provide grants to such activities as educational campaigns on HIV/AIDS and nutrition improvement for the poor and socially vulnerable people. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that this year Japan will make a further contribution of approximately $50 million to the fund." - Masajuro Shiokawa, Governor, Japan

"First, in the era of globalization, the role of ADB and other multilateral development agencies is becoming all the more important. Challenges of globalization, such as the widening inequality in income and wealth, cannot be dealt with effectively by the nation states alone. The role of NGOs and civil society in general as the protector of the economically weak is also crucial. In this regard, we welcome ADB's recent initiative and its interaction with nongovernment organizations to help the most vulnerable groups in our region." -Yun-Churl Jeon, Governor, Republic of Korea

"The 6th National Development Plan for the Maldives is being rolled out. The plan has a program approach, and calls for extensive participation by the private sector, nongovernment organizations and civil society." - Ismail Shafeeu, Governor, Maldives

"Raising the effectiveness of aid by creating a sound environment, an appropriate framework for investment, initiating structural reform, ensuring good governance, achieving high standards of transparency, eliminating corruption, and involving civil society are the prime responsibility of recipient countries. They should learn to walk on their own but they need assistance to get there." -Shaukat Aziz, Governor, Pakistan

"It is very much a part of the United Kingdom's philosophy on development to work in partnership with others - developing countries, civil society, private business, and donors¡­we welcome (ADB's) commitment to consult widely, drawing on the experiences of others, including other international financial institutions, and involving its severest critics from civil society." - Adrian Wood, Head of Delegation, United Kingdom

"Environmental considerations must be integrated systematically into all operations of the project cycle from the earliest stage of project design. In that sense, adequate performance indicators in the field of environment need to be established. Adopting a proactive approach means that civil society participates systematically in formulating and implementing environmental programs, projects and assessments." -Oskar Knapp, Governor, Switzerland

"Addressing environmental degradation requires strong partnerships. Accordingly, ADB is strengthening and expanding its partnerships with international agencies, the private sector, NGOs, and civil society. In this context, we are actively participating in preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg later this year." -Tadao Chino, President, ADB (and Chairman, Board of Directors)